"There Is No Death"
There is no death! The stars go down
To rise upon some other shore,
And bright in Heaven's jeweled crown
They shine for evermore.
Time is no death! The dust we tread
Shall change beneath the summer showers
To golden grain, or mellow fruit,
Or rainbow-tinted flowers.
And ever near us, though unseen,
The dear immortal spirits tread,
For all the boundless universe
Is life-there are no dead!
-John Luckey McCreery
One night, Ed was eating his dinner sitting on my bed watching the television when he suddenly could not move and fell over on his side. I grabbed the food away from him and then tried to help him get upright again. I could not get him to his feet so I called for an ambulance. The ambulance took him to the Bishop Hospital and I followed him in the car. When I got to the hospital Ed was still unable to get up by himself and the nurses were talking about admitting him.
Suddenly, Ed pushed himself upright, swung his legs off of the bed, stood up, and began walking around. The nurses and I were amazed and stared at him as he was proving himself. He said that he did not want to be admitted and that he was all right; just had one of the "little" seizures but was fine now. The nurses looked at me and shrugged their shoulders and said that they could not admit him as he seemed to be dramatically improved. Ed was very happy and walked out of the hospital and got into the car and we went home.
Once we got back home Ed sat down on the bed again and was watching television. After an hour, he tried to stand up and could not get to his feet. He asked me to come and help him up and of course I did. I put my arm around his waist and we heave-hoed him up. He then seemed able to stand and he walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water. On his was out of the kitchen he suddenly stopped walking and fell flat on the floor face first.
I ran to him and ascertained that his face was all right from the fall, and it was. The he asked me to help him to get up again. I put my arms under his arms and around him and pulled to get him onto his knees then I tried to pull him to a standing position but had no luck. He fell flat onto the floor again. He felt like dead weight. I could not get any leverage to lift him up. I tried picking him up under his arms again and he looked straight into my eyes and his eyes begged me to pick him up, but I could not get him off of the floor.
I said to Ed, "Honey, I can't pick you up; you're too heavy for me, but maybe in the morning I'll have more strength. I'll get you a pillow and a blanket and you'll have to sleep here tonight."
I got him a blanket and spread it over him, then put a pillow underneath his head and kissed the top of his forehead good-night. Then suddenly a wave of pure exhaustion hit me and I could do nothing but crawl to the bed and lay down on it. I was asleep before my head touched the pillow.
The next morning dawned bright and clear and I could feel the sunshine and hear the birds singing. I got dressed and opened up the window. Ed was still asleep and I knew that he needed all the sleep he could get, so I began to fix breakfast. As I cooked breakfast, I was looking down on Ed's prone self, so sound asleep. Then as I watched him something seemed different. He seemed so still. I bent down to check his breathing and could not detect a breath. I slipped my hand under his shirt and he still seemed slightly warm, but not as warm as I thought he should. I went around to the side that he was facing and felt the arteries in his neck.
Ed had passed away in the night.
I called 911 and asked for an ambulance, then I called Anders and told him what had happened. Anders said that he would be right there. The policeman came and then called for a coroner and an ambulance. He was a very kind policeman and told me that I could spend time with Ed until the ambulance came. I took the time to tell Ed how much I loved him and how he had enabled me. I told him how much I would miss him and thanked him for all that he had taught me. I also cut a lock of hair for his children and myself. After the police and the coroner had left and taken Ed with them, I broke down and cried my heart out.
Anders came a few hours later and was so kind and gracious to me. We went to the funeral home and made arrangements to have Ed cremated. The mortician was especially kind and allowed Anders and I plenty of time with Ed. Anders said that we would have a memorial service for Ed at a beautiful park in Los Angeles-sort of a halfway mark for people coming from San Diego and Bishop.
At the memorial service, I got to meet Ed's other two children, Scott and Jennifer. They were beautiful young people, and I also got to meet Linda for the first time. Linda gave me a piece of jewelry that Ed had once given her and I thought that was a very gracious gesture. Larry came all the way from Colorado, and Ed's oldest sister, Melvina, came from Texas. Ed had been a loved man.
Tomorrow Ann learns to live without her beloved Ed...
There is no death! The stars go down
To rise upon some other shore,
And bright in Heaven's jeweled crown
They shine for evermore.
Time is no death! The dust we tread
Shall change beneath the summer showers
To golden grain, or mellow fruit,
Or rainbow-tinted flowers.
And ever near us, though unseen,
The dear immortal spirits tread,
For all the boundless universe
Is life-there are no dead!
-John Luckey McCreery
One night, Ed was eating his dinner sitting on my bed watching the television when he suddenly could not move and fell over on his side. I grabbed the food away from him and then tried to help him get upright again. I could not get him to his feet so I called for an ambulance. The ambulance took him to the Bishop Hospital and I followed him in the car. When I got to the hospital Ed was still unable to get up by himself and the nurses were talking about admitting him.
Suddenly, Ed pushed himself upright, swung his legs off of the bed, stood up, and began walking around. The nurses and I were amazed and stared at him as he was proving himself. He said that he did not want to be admitted and that he was all right; just had one of the "little" seizures but was fine now. The nurses looked at me and shrugged their shoulders and said that they could not admit him as he seemed to be dramatically improved. Ed was very happy and walked out of the hospital and got into the car and we went home.
Once we got back home Ed sat down on the bed again and was watching television. After an hour, he tried to stand up and could not get to his feet. He asked me to come and help him up and of course I did. I put my arm around his waist and we heave-hoed him up. He then seemed able to stand and he walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water. On his was out of the kitchen he suddenly stopped walking and fell flat on the floor face first.
I ran to him and ascertained that his face was all right from the fall, and it was. The he asked me to help him to get up again. I put my arms under his arms and around him and pulled to get him onto his knees then I tried to pull him to a standing position but had no luck. He fell flat onto the floor again. He felt like dead weight. I could not get any leverage to lift him up. I tried picking him up under his arms again and he looked straight into my eyes and his eyes begged me to pick him up, but I could not get him off of the floor.
I said to Ed, "Honey, I can't pick you up; you're too heavy for me, but maybe in the morning I'll have more strength. I'll get you a pillow and a blanket and you'll have to sleep here tonight."
I got him a blanket and spread it over him, then put a pillow underneath his head and kissed the top of his forehead good-night. Then suddenly a wave of pure exhaustion hit me and I could do nothing but crawl to the bed and lay down on it. I was asleep before my head touched the pillow.
The next morning dawned bright and clear and I could feel the sunshine and hear the birds singing. I got dressed and opened up the window. Ed was still asleep and I knew that he needed all the sleep he could get, so I began to fix breakfast. As I cooked breakfast, I was looking down on Ed's prone self, so sound asleep. Then as I watched him something seemed different. He seemed so still. I bent down to check his breathing and could not detect a breath. I slipped my hand under his shirt and he still seemed slightly warm, but not as warm as I thought he should. I went around to the side that he was facing and felt the arteries in his neck.
Ed had passed away in the night.
I called 911 and asked for an ambulance, then I called Anders and told him what had happened. Anders said that he would be right there. The policeman came and then called for a coroner and an ambulance. He was a very kind policeman and told me that I could spend time with Ed until the ambulance came. I took the time to tell Ed how much I loved him and how he had enabled me. I told him how much I would miss him and thanked him for all that he had taught me. I also cut a lock of hair for his children and myself. After the police and the coroner had left and taken Ed with them, I broke down and cried my heart out.
Anders came a few hours later and was so kind and gracious to me. We went to the funeral home and made arrangements to have Ed cremated. The mortician was especially kind and allowed Anders and I plenty of time with Ed. Anders said that we would have a memorial service for Ed at a beautiful park in Los Angeles-sort of a halfway mark for people coming from San Diego and Bishop.
At the memorial service, I got to meet Ed's other two children, Scott and Jennifer. They were beautiful young people, and I also got to meet Linda for the first time. Linda gave me a piece of jewelry that Ed had once given her and I thought that was a very gracious gesture. Larry came all the way from Colorado, and Ed's oldest sister, Melvina, came from Texas. Ed had been a loved man.
Tomorrow Ann learns to live without her beloved Ed...
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